Top 6 Reasons Truck Drivers Leave

Truck drivers leaving their position for something different is one of the biggest headaches for carriers. If you know the main reasons your drivers are leaving, then you can counteract the causes and improve your retention rate. Here are the top 6 reasons truck drivers leave.

Top 6 Reasons Truck Drivers Leave

  1. Better Pay/Benefits

  2. Retirement

  3. Poor Company Culture

  4. Home Time

  5. Opportunity to Advance

  6. Health Issues

Truck drivers walking away after leaving their company

Pay Drives Trucker’s Decisions

According to study conducted by HireRight, 50% of truck drivers say that making more money is the reason they have left employers in the past.

Companies like Walmart are offering their drivers salaries that exceed $80k per year. If you are still offering your drivers a CPM that comes out to equalling $45k per year, then drivers will be eager to leave for a higher paying company.

Not every company can afford to pay their drivers $80k per year, however there are strategies to keep drivers staffed for lower pay. One of those strategies is offering guaranteed salary instead of CPM.

Truck drivers will feel more valued with a guaranteed pay. Also, one of the biggest points of friction for drivers is when they are paid CPM and get stuck at an unloading dock. Paying drivers a salary will ease this tension.

Retirement

The truck driver demographic is rapidly aging. NPR reported in 2018 that the average age of truck drivers is 55 years old.

55 years old is roughly 10 years older than the average age of other blue collar industries such as construction.

Trucks with the latest ADAS features can help you retain this aging population of drivers.

ADAS features retain older drivers because they make the position less fatiguing. New trucks use active steering and lane keep assist to keep the truck on the road through hazardous conditions. It is no longer 100% dependent on the driver’s abilities.

ADAS makes the driver position less taxing, enabling drivers to work longer.

Happy retired couple

Poor Company Culture

Whether you actively work on it or not, your company has a culture. Drivers prefer to work for a company that actively builds a strong culture of appreciation.

Quality truck drivers actively seek out companies that have great company cultures. The drivers you have will leave you for companies with strong employer brands.

Make celebrating your drivers a priority at your company. They are the reason your company is making money. Without them you have no company.

Not Enough Home Time 

As truck drivers start their careers they are younger and therefore have less responsibilities tying them down. This leads to them taking on positions that have them on the road for extended periods of time.

Truck drivers then start their families and grow into adults with lives rooted in specific towns. When this happens drivers will pursue careers that offer them more home time and home time that is reliable.

If you are actively surveying your drivers, you will be able to sense which of your drivers are looking for more home time. With this information you can offer these drivers a new, local role and keep them working for your company.

Opportunity to Advance 

Your company needs to be hiring drivers that take pride in their work and are career oriented. Avoid drivers that look at truck driving as a job and not a career.

Hiring career focused drivers means you will employ drivers eager to learn and improve. Hiring career motivated drivers also means that they are constantly looking for opportunities to advance in the industry.

If you are not offering opportunities for your drivers to grow, they will leave you for a company that does.

Encourage drivers to advance in their careers by offering to pay for them to earn different CDL certifications. Or make it known that it is possible for drivers to move into non-driving positions within your company.

Health Issues

It is no secret that being a truck driver is one of the least healthy careers in the country.

According to the CDC, over half of all OTR drivers have at least two of these health conditions: high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, limited physical activity, high cholesterol, or lack of sleep.

Living with these conditions is not a comfortable life and can force drivers out of their career. You need to be promoting healthy habits for your drivers.

Make it easy for your drivers to eat healthier meals by providing mini-fridges and toaster ovens in your trucks. Doing this will make it easier for drivers to bring home made, healthy meals on the road instead of settling for truck stop food.

Another way to promote a healthy lifestyle for your drivers is to outfit them with Fitbits or WHOOP bands that track driver activity. You can use these devices to run company competitions and the most active drivers win rewards.

Table covered with unhealthy food.

Your company’s success depends on your ability to retain quality drivers. If you are having to constantly hire new drivers because your retention rates are high, your company is not performing optimally. Counteract the top 6 reasons truck drivers leave in order to improve your retention.